A Better Tomorrow
by Tallictr
Summary: Finding himself in the world of One Piece, Lucas uses his new powers to make his way in the world. From joining the Strawhats on their adventures to fighting with the World Government, he will do all that he can to make his new life one of adventure and excitement.
1. Prologue

Hello there readers. This is the newest story I've been working on. I'd appreciate any and all comments on what you think. Please enjoy the story and have a nice read. Thank you!

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 ** _Loading application…_**

 ** _Application loaded…_**

 ** _Locating candidates…_**

 ** _Candidates located…_**

 ** _Calculating possible outcomes…_**

 ** _Possible outcomes calculated…_**

 ** _Selecting candidate…_**

 ** _Candidate Selected…_**

 ** _Extracting Selected Soul…_**

 ** _Beginning Migration Process…_**

 ** _._**

 ** _._**

 ** _._**

 ** _._**

 ** _._**

 ** _._**

 ** _._**

 ** _Migration process initiated…complete…_**

 ** _Beginning application process…_**

 ** _Do you wish to leave your current world behind? To explore different worlds and see all there is to see? (Y/N)_**

…Yes.

 ** _Would rather live a life full of Adventure(1) or Tranquility(2)?_**

…Adventure.

 ** _Would you rather have your adventure in a Fictional(1) or Non-fictional world(2)?_**

…Fictional.

 ** _Pick one of the following: Books(1), Anime/Manga(2), Movies(3), or Cartoons(4), Comics(5), Games(6), Plays(7)_**

…Anime/Manga.

 ** _Pick one of the following: Bleach(1), Naruto(2), Soul Eater(3), Dragon Ball Z(4), Fairy Tail(5), One Piece(6)_**

…One Piece.

 ** _Are you sure? (Y/N)_**

…Yes.

 ** _You have chosen to have an adventure in the world of One Piece. Pick a difficulty setting and accompanying starter pack._**

 ** _Easy(1): For players who are looking to have fun._**

 ** _Start your adventure wielding one of the three types of Haki[Random] and a Zoan type Devil Fruit[Random]. Begin on a peaceful island in the East Blue.[Random]. Possible Races: Human._**

 ** _Medium(2): For players who want a challenge._**

 ** _Start your adventure wielding two of the three types of Haki [Random] and a Zoan or Paramecia Devil Fruit [Random]. Begin on an island in a Blue of your choice [West, North, South].Possible Races: Human, Fishman/Merman._**

 ** _Hard(3): For players who seek the adventure of a lifetime._**

 ** _Start your adventure wielding three of the three types of Haki and a Paramecia or Logia Devil Fruit [Two options available]. Begin on a random island outside of the Grand Line. Possible Races: Human, Fishman/Merman, Long Limb Tribesman._**

 ** _Expert(4): For players willing to risk everything._**

 ** _Start your adventure wielding three of the three types of Haki and your choice of Paramecia, Logia, or Zoan Devil Fruit. Begin on an island of unknown circumstance somewhere in the Grand Line [Random]. Possible Races: Human, Fishman/Merman, Long Limb Tribesman, Giant_**

 ** _Daredevil(5): For players who have chosen to throw their lot in with the worst this world has to offer. (Not Recommended)_**

 ** _Start your adventure as one of, if not_** **the,** ** _most hated creatures to ever roam the land and sea. You will be given no Haki or Devil Fruit of any kind, but have access to large amounts of money as well as Immunity to any and all governing laws. Begin in the Holy Land of Mariejois. Possible Races: Celestial Dragon (Human?)_**

…Hard.

 ** _You have chosen to play on the Hard difficulty. Please choose which Devil Fruit you would like to consume. Paramecia(1) or Logia(2)._**

…Logia.

 ** _You have chosen to consume a Logia Devil Fruit. Choose one of the following._**

 ** _Rumble-Rumble Fruit or Oil-Oil Fruit._**

…Rumble-Rumble Fruit

 ** _You have chosen the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. You will now have the power of electricity at your beck and call._**

 ** _Choose from the following to select_** **when** ** _you would like to begin your adventure. Note: Depending on what you choose, your age will be adjusted accordingly. (Ex. If you begin 15 years before the main storyline at the age of 20 then you will be 35 years old when it begins.)_**

 ** _-25 years before the main storyline_**

 ** _-20 years before the main storyline_**

 ** _-15 years before the main storyline_**

 ** _-10 years before the main storyline_**

 ** _-5 years before the main storyline_**

 ** _-Beginning of the main storyline_**

 ** _As a result of selecting the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, your journey shall begin outside of the previously available options._**

 ** _At what age would you like to begin your adventure? Type your answer below._**

…18

 ** _You have chosen to be 18 years old at the start of your adventure,_** ** _[?] years before the story begins_** ** _. Now you must choose your Race. Choose from the Races shown below._**

 ** _{Human, Fishman/Merman, Long Limb Tribesman}_**

…Fishman/Merman

 ** _You have chosen to be a member of the Fishman/Merman race. Please choose your preferred racial variation._**

 ** _{Merman, Fishman}_**

…Fishman.

 ** _You have chosen the Fishman racial variation. Please choose your preferred sub-variation._**

 ** _{Shark, Salmon, Carp, Octopus, Starfish, Eel}_**

…Shark

 ** _Please select the desired variation of Shark?_**

 ** _{Great White, Bull, Tiger, Whale, Hammerhead}_**

…Bull Shark

 ** _You have chosen the Bull Shark sub-variant._**

 ** _Randomizing island selection…_**

 ** _Island selection randomized…_**

 ** _Adjusting selection according to selected Devil Fruit and revised timeframe…_**

 ** _Selection adjustment error…timeframe adjustment error…attempting to repair…attempt failed…attempting to repair…attempt failed…_**

 ** _Selecting island…_**

 ** _Island Selected…_**

 ** _You will now customize your new body._**

 ** _Height:_** 9'5''

 ** _Build:_** Muscular, well-built

 ** _Gender:_** Male

 ** _Skin Color:_** Dark Gray

 ** _Hair:_** Long

 ** _Hair Color:_** Black

 ** _Eye Color:_** Black

 ** _Customization complete. Are you sure you're satisfied with your new look? (Y/N)_**

…Yes.

 ** _New body created! Now beginning world transfer sequence. Transferring in 11…10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…0…_**

 ** _…transferring…_**

 ** _…transferring…complete…_**

 ** _Application process complete…_**

 ** _…_**

 ** _WARNING: MULTIPLE SELECTION ERRORS…ATTEMPTING TO RECTIFY…ATTEMPT FAILED…ATTEMPTING TO RECTIFY…ATTEMPT FAILED…ATTEMPTING TO RECTIFY…PARTIAL SUCCESS…ATTEMPTING TO RECTIFY…ATTEMPT FAILED…_**


	2. Chapter 1

Lucas had been locked inside his cell for four days before finally making his escape. As the guard who brought him his meals came close enough, he released a small burst of Conqueror's Haki which knocked the guy out instantly.

It had been difficult to reach them through the small gaps in the cell wall, but he managed to maneuver his arm out as much as he could. And after struggling to grab the keys from the guard's waist, he managed to open the door and make a break for it.

From what he had heard when the night guard took over, they were currently docked at Loguetown. This confirmed his increasing suspicions that he was, in fact, in the world of One Piece.

Tired, hungry, and just all around confused, he made his way up a set of stairs and out a door. As soon as he did, the heads of twenty marines turned in his direction.

"Uh…bye!" He jumped off the side of the ship, narrowly avoided rolling into a barrel of what looked like water and took off in a mad dash to the other side of the island. From the sounds of men and women shouting, guns firing, and boots stomping on wood and stone, he could safely assume they weren't too eager to let him just leave.

Even now, he could feel how unfair it was that he was saddled with being punished for a crime he didn't do. Well, technically he _did_ do it. But it was an accident! It wasn't his fault that someone put a lamp so close to the barrels of gunpowder.

And if that rope hadn't just been so carelessly left on the ground, he wouldn't have tripped in the first place. The way Lucas saw it, it was their fault for not having their shit together. As well as not having a fire resistant ship. Who makes a ship out of such flammable materials anyways, right?

As he ran deeper into the town and down some particularly dark alleyways, he could hear the footsteps momentarily surrounding him and then eventually running past him. 'Thank you enhanced hearing.' Releasing a sigh of relief, he used the windows on the buildings he was in between and climbed to the rooftops.

From there, he would try and find a ship that might be able to take him as far away from Loguetown as possible. 'There. I see one…and it looks like it might be setting sail soon.' He walked towards the edge of the roof.

"Now if I could just manage to avoid Smoker-" A deep voice spoke out from behind. "You called?" Let it be known, Lucas did not jump in surprise or let out a startled scream. Instead, he did the only thing he knew how.

"Nope!" And took off running across the rooftops with at full speed using every ounce of strength, endurance, and flexibility his new Fishman body gave him. Smoker, caught off guard at the man's actions, stood there stunned for a moment until he regained his composure. "Get back here!" he called out as he began to give chase.

For ten minutes Lucas and Smoker played a game of cat and mouse until Lucas finally managed to give him the slip by running back towards the now lightly guarded marine ship and hiding. And as childish as the trick was, it had worked.

He waited several minutes before pulling himself up, as he was hanging off the side of the ship facing away from the port, and making his way over to the ship he had seen earlier.

The old man unfurling the sails of the ship watched as Lucas hopped off the boardwalk and onto the deck, choosing to sit in a spot hidden from plain view. "Sorry old man, but I'm going to need a ride. You cool with that?"

The old man merely nodded his head and continued his work with the sails. It wasn't the first time he'd helped a stranger out like this, and the way things sounded in the town not five minutes ago, it was likely that said stranger was a pirate.

It was obvious from the man's complexion, gills, and several other bodily indicators that he wasn't human, and even more obvious that he and the marines were on less than friendly grounds.

Thus came about the question of whether or not the man was worth the trouble he might get into. On one hand, the marine soldiers could be assholes once they were off duty. Marines who never really left the port were troublesome drunks. But on the other, they protected the town from the more rowdy pirates passing through.

"Hmm. What to do, what to do?" He stroked his graying beard. Suddenly a loud snorting noise interrupted his beard stroking. It seemed that the Fishman had fallen asleep. The old man smirked. "Heh! Why not? I'll just drop him off at Goa." Nothing else was said as they set out to sea.

 _A few weeks later_

"Thanks for the ride old man. Maybe we'll see each other again sometime." The old man laughed as he tossed Lucas a small sack of coins.

As he put the bag in his knapsack, he made sure to check if the devil fruit was still good. He was amazed at how long devil fruits lasted. Hopefully, it could last him another three hours. "Yeah, yeah. Don't get your hopes up, though! I'm old and fragile. I could drop at any second! And don't spend that all at once like you did the last time."

Lucas smiled playfully at his words. "C'mon Bill, don't say things like that. I might misunderstand and think you actually don't trust me with money. Also, I call bullshit on that whole 'dropping dead at any second' claim. You may be old, but you're not that old."

Bill smirked and waved off Lucas' words. "Say whatever you want, brat. The fact is, I'm old and it's bound to happen sooner or later. And you _are_ bad with money. You wasted almost all of the money you managed to save up last week on that weird looking fruit you found, and you still haven't taken a single bite of the damn thing."

Lucas laughed at Bill's reprimand. "That fruit is worth more than you know, old man. Anyway, try not to drop dead before I see you again. It'd be a shame if you didn't buy me that drink you owe me."

Lucas began walking away as Bill started yelling at him for milking a poor old man dry of his hard earned money. In return, Lucas held up a hand. "Thanks for everything!" And with that, the two parted ways.

Bill was headed back to Loguetown, and Lucas was now staying on a deserted island Bill had told him about. He had intended to drop Lucas off at Goa but was persuaded to part with him at a deserted island.

Lucas had been sure to secure a small boat and several days' worth of supplies as a way of showing Bill he'd be fine. But whether or not he'd been dropped off at Goa, his final destination would have been this small island. If he was going to have devil fruit powers, that could potentially be dangerous to those around him, he'd also need a quiet and secluded place to practice using them.

After joining up with Bill, it had taken a few days for him to accept that he was no longer living his old life. He was no longer Lucas Rockwell, mediocre-student with an anime addiction. Now he was Lucas Rockwell, Fishman extraordinaire. Or, perhaps, just Lucas. Rockwell didn't strike him as a name that the people here would have.

At first, he found it hard to acclimate to living as something other than human. Having gills, an allergy to water and the ability to use Haki was almost like wearing a new pair of shoes. He needed to get used to it; to break them in until they were barely noticeable.

What really had him struggling was what he was going to do now that he was there. Would he ignore the problems that surrounded the Strawhats and live his own life? Would he join them as they begin their adventures? He honestly didn't know.

But with a few weeks of hanging out with a pretty laid back old man, having the freedom to do as he pleased, and being able to thoroughly think this whole 'stuck in One Piece' situation through, he'd been able to come up with a very simple, yet solid plan.

Lucas would help them as much as he could. He'd use his knowledge of the world and of the future to prepare them for the hazards that they would face. The Marines, the World Government, Enel, Crocodile, Big Mom, Kaido, and so many others were out there. And sooner or later, they would be going against them.

Having a plan as important as he deemed this one to be kept him organized, focused, and gave him a purpose in this familiar, yet foreign new world. And he realized, for the first time in his life, that his life held meaning.

With a purpose as important as he knew it to be, how could it not?


	3. Chapter 2

_**Hey! I hope you're enjoying this story so far. Leave a comment if there are any questions you have or if you just want to state your opinion on the story so far. I appreciate the support guys!**_

 _ **See you next chapter!**_

Lucas had been on the island making preparations the entire day before finally securing the essentials. He'd set up his tent under a thick gathering of trees to prevent any bad weather from affecting his campsite, secured a fresh water supply, gathered several fruits and vegetables, and even caught some fish.

By the time night came, he was ready to eat the devil fruit and get his new powers. Sitting by the fire, he'd just taken the first bite when a gag reflex he'd never had before kicked in and almost made him spit it out.

"Oh, _gross_!" It was the worst thing he'd ever tasted. "I think I'm gonna be sick…" It took several attempts to swallow before he'd finally managed to work past the intense urge to throw up.

After that nightmare was through, he found himself faced with a dilemma worse than anything he'd had to deal with before. He couldn't help but wonder if eating more of the fruit gave him more of its power.

Luffy had eaten his devil fruit whole and was insanely powerful, while Buggy at his whole as well but was much weaker than almost every other character. With a reluctant sigh, "Ah, fuck my life…"

It took him nearly an hour to eat the rest of the fruit; even the equally disgusting stem. How Luffy ate it with so little trouble he'd never know. But at least he had his peace of mind back.

"So…was it a Zoan, a Logia, or a Paramecia?" He'd had a mini heart attack at the idea of having eaten the Smooth-Smooth fruit but shrugged it off. 'It would suck to rob Alvida of the chance to be skinny, as well as having eaten a seemingly useless devil fruit, but I'll take what I can get. I'll have to if I'm going to survive in this world.'

Thinking animalistic thoughts, or what he assumed animals thought of, he tried to tap into his primal side. It took nearly several minutes before he felt satisfied with his fruitless efforts. 'Maybe it really is the Smooth-Smooth fruit… _Shit,_ I hope not.'

Next was Paramecia. He tried whacking his arm with a stick he'd picked up off the ground and the end result of this was the realization that he was actually a Logia user. The stick had gone right through his arm. It was an odd feeling having something pass through you; like running your hand through your hair without touching the scalp.

"Hell yeah!" Jumping around and pumping his fists in the air he let out all of the excitement he'd been holding in the past few weeks. Even though his first few days started off a little bumpy, turns out being locked in a cage wasn't so bad once you found the right position to lay down in, being a Logia user more than made up for it.

The question now was what kind of Logia user he was. He lifted his hand up towards a nearby tree and concentrated on feeling what he was capable of. It felt like something was surging through his arm.

He could feel some sort of energy building up, while the hand itself was glowing blue, feeling heavier by the second, and humming faintly. 'Funny, it almost looks like-' Suddenly the blue light grew brighter and the humming grew louder before his hand went from feeling like it was full of sand to feeling as light as air.

The next thing he knew, the tree he'd been aiming at was a smoldering crisp and small electric discharges were coming out of his arm. The blackened stump was all that was left of a tree that was twice his size. "…electricity?"

The next week was just Lucas training his electric powers. He could have sworn Enel was the one who had the power of electricity. In fact, he was sure of it. But, now he had those powers as well and he was almost positive Enel was still very much alive.

He knew because shortly after getting on Bill's boat, he tried to assess when he was. Much to Lucas' simultaneous disappointment and relief, it was still three years, give or take a couple of months, before Luffy set sail.

Since Ace was described as an 'up and coming pirate menace', he'd probably just set sail not too long ago which meant Luffy was around 14 at this point. This meant he had time to practice his new powers as well as make a much more detailed plan.

Winging it was not something he liked to do in the long term but would settle for at the moment, so a basic plan would do for now and he'd make revisions to it later; most likely when he met up with Luffy.

The first step was to become as good as he possibly could with controlling his powers within two years. By the time he met Luffy, he wanted to at least be able to take on someone like Crocodile.

Of course, without the fighting experience Luffy has after all those trips into the oddly treacherous jungle surrounding the Goa Kingdom that would be pretty difficult to achieve. But having control over his lightning would be a great start.

The second step would be to travel around the East Blue as a bounty hunter and earn as much money as he could. He wanted to have enough berries to buy what he needed in the future.

As long as he stuck to fighting mountain bandits and low-level pirates, he figured he'd be okay with money until the Grand Line. From there on he'd just rely on Nami's allowance system.

The third and final step, so far, was to meet up with them at Loguetown. From there, he'd need to come up with things as they happened. He was sure a more detailed plan would come along once they hit the Grand Line.

Soon the days turned into weeks and the weeks into months. Day in and day out Lucas focused on training himself and his control over his powers. He survived on fish, local wildlife, and some wild berries he'd hoped weren't poisonous.

One day, Lucas realized that as far as devil fruit training went, he had gotten all he could out of the island. But he still had more than a year left before his two years of training were up. He was at a loss at what he should do.

Then it hit him, literally. The bird that delivered his newspaper and the accompanying wanted posters had dropped it on his head rather than in front of him. It had been like that ever since he'd accidentally sent a bolt of lightning in its general direction a few months back.

"Can't you ever give me the newspaper like a normal newspaper bird!?" He received a dirty look and an indignant squawk as the bird flew away. "Oh you are _so_ lucky I don't send another one of those lightning bolts your way!"

Calming down, he read the paper. 'Hm. It seems that Ace is really starting to come up in the world. It says here that his bounty is already in the hundred million.' Other than that there were only the wanted posters he'd subscribed for.

Aside from practicing his powers, Lucas took time out during the day to memorize, as much as he could, the names and faces of the people he'd most likely go after during his time as a bounty hunter.

Luckily for him, the names with the bigger bounties don't get captured or killed as often as the ones with smaller bounties. On a related note, Lucas was unsure of how he felt about feeling so nonchalant about sending people to their dooms by turning them into the Marines.

Sure, he'd always had a general attitude of indifference when it came to necessity over personal preference, but he'd never had to kill someone before. No matter how indirectly. And now that he would have to within the next year or so, he just felt accepting of the whole ordeal.

"No time for these thoughts. I need to focus on the plan." Putting those troubling thoughts away for later, he finished going through the list. He kept the updated posters of the bandits and pirates with current bounties and put the rest aside to burn at night.

As he was sorting out the wanted posters, he took another look at Ace's. This time, what hit him was an idea. A realization of epic proportions. "I…am such a fucking _idiot_!" Ace was a Logia user, as was Lucas. Which meant they could both be hurt with Haki enhanced attacks.

More specifically, Armament Haki. An entire aspect of Haki he had completely neglected up until that point. Not to mention Observational Haki _and_ Conqueror's! He felt like such a dumbass. Focusing so much attention on his devil fruit powers that he had completely forgotten about the only other amazing thing he could do.

"On the bright side though, I'm getting" he took in a deep breath "TWO MORE SUUPEERPOOWEERRRSS! WHOO!"

Following an explosive display of excitement, he got to work. It would take longer than the time he had left to master it like Luffy had, but at least he'd be able to use it with some modicum of skill by the time he joined up with his favorite band of pirates.


End file.
